


Team Bonding

by Musical_Fandom



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28115988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musical_Fandom/pseuds/Musical_Fandom
Summary: After spending time with the Phantom Thieves during the palace infiltration, Akechi begins to question himself.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro & Phantom Thieves of Hearts
Kudos: 24





	Team Bonding

Pain was the first thing he registered. Akechi had been getting sloppy. What should have been an easy dodge turned into a critical hit from some weak shadow.

In a second, Morgana was at his side, flooding him with healing magic. A warm feeling spread through his body as the diarahan did its work. He could feel the large cut in his side stitching itself back together. The feeling was odd but painless.

"Thank you. I'll be more careful next time." Akechi said, trying to hide his irritation. Morgana returned to the battle as Akechi stood. The pain and injury were completely gone but the embarrassment lingered. Making such a careless mistake, it wasn't like him.

Darkness surrounded Akechi, it seemed to steal his breath out of his lungs as it left him reeling on the ground. Another careless mistake. He was so used to Loki that he had forgotten about Robin Hood's curse weakness.

Another curse attack came at him. He closed his eyes in anticipation but the attack didn't land. He looked up to see Niijima standing in front of him. Anat had taken the hit for him. She winced in pain but quickly shook it off. Once the danger was gone she turned to him and offered her hand which he hesitantly accepted.

"That looked like a nasty hit, how are you feeling?" The concern in her voice was clear.

"It hurt but I'll be fine." He smiled at her hoping to convey anything other than the rage he felt. As if it wasn't bad enough he couldn't use Loki, it had put him in a dangerous situation. If Niijima hadn't stepped in to _save_ him then it would have been so much worse. He didn't like how dangerously lax he was getting.

It was a particularly difficult battle. No matter how many times they hit the enemy it just would not go down. The only one even making a dent was Akechi which was to be expected. He was the most powerful whether his teammates knew it or not.

"Captain Kidd!" Sakamoto yelled. A rush of energy flowed through Akechi as tarukaja took effect. The extra power felt amazing. Defeating the shadow was much easier with the extra assistance.

After the battle the power had left in a way that still left him energized. It was much different from desperation which always left him exhausted and sore. Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked back to see Sakamoto grinning at him. A small smile pulled at his lips before he remembered where he was. Any positive feelings were quickly squashed before they could become an issue. These people were not his friends or teammates or whatever bullshit they thought. They were his enemies and he needed to remember that.

A particularly hard hit nearly knocked Akechi off his feet. It would have been much worse had he not been guarding. The shadow hit hard and it had quickly recognized that Akechi did too. Takamaki was doing her best to minimize the damage but there was only so much she could do.

Another hit caught Akechi off guard. He hadn't been able to block or dodge in time and was sent painfully to the ground. The shadow was ready to strike the final blow and there was nothing Akechi could do to stop it. He raised his arm to try to block whatever was coming, knowing it wouldn't do much good.

A sudden uncomfortable heat erupted in front of him which obliterated the shadow. Akechi looked up to see Takamaki with Carmen hovering behind her. He tried to push down the shame of being saved yet again as he slowly stood up.

"That was quite close! Thank you Panther." He said with his fake overly pleasant voice. He realized that his Detective Prince act may not have been entirely appropriate but it was what he normally defaulted to.

"Hold still." She said as Carmen once again cast a spell. This time it was healing instead of fire. A pleasant warmth utterly unlike the fire from before spread through Akechi's body as his wounds quickly mended themselves.

He looked to Takamaki to thank her and noticed how tired she looked. She had been using a lot of SP recently. "Do you need a coffee Panther?" He asked, catching the concern in his voice. That wasn't right, he wasn't concerned. If she was tired then it was her own problem. Why should he care if she couldn't keep up?

"A coffee would be great." She said with a bright smile. Akechi tried his best to hide the sudden mood swing as he went to fetch her something. He needed to stop spending so much time with the Thieves. If they managed to get too close, it would only be a disaster for him.

The world was spinning and he couldn't see straight. In front of him were two, maybe three Norns. He charged at one of them and dealt what should have been a lethal blow yet it remained unaffected.

"Crow! You gotta aim!" Oracle cried from above.

He was irritated. If he was on his own the damn shadow wouldn't have gotten the chance to blink before it was destroyed by Loki but they were caught off guard. Everyone, himself included much to his shame, had been distracted with idle chatter and empty banter. By the time Oracle noticed the shadow, it was too late to avoid the ambush.

Akechi tried his best to focus but it was no good. The constant motion was making him nautious.

"Persona!" All at once, the world was still. It would have been disorienting if not for the gentle touch of Noir's magic. He refused to look at her, instead choosing to attack and kill the Norn in front of him. Even after the battle he continued to avoid her. The thought of her assistance brought forward an uncomfortable sense of guilt that he couldn't deal with right now. He didn't think he was capable of feeling guilt anymore. What were they doing to him?

An all consuming rage took hold of Akechi's mind. It clouded his judgement and replaced his rational thoughts with the need for blood. He could feel the raw power that the state granted him, it was a feeling that he was accustomed to when he rampaged alone in Mementos. He rushed forward with much more speed than he anticipated and lunged at the shadow only to be forced back. His own increased power stung immensely which only served to make him more angry. 

"Crow you need to calm down!" He wasn't sure who had said it but it didn't matter. Everything was drowned out by the rage. He rushed towards the shadow again, determined to hit it this time before being knocked back again. His anger kept him standing even though his body screamed at him to stop. He just needed to-

A harsh slap brought him back to reality. He looked at Kitagawa's neutral face as the pain really set in. His knees collapsed under him as his mind caught up with what was going on. The creature they were fighting could repel physical attacks. If Kitagawa hadn't snapped him out of his rage he would have knocked himself out, if not outright killed himself, trying to kill the thing.

"Thank you." He said quietly. It was difficult to be angry at being saved again when he was so injured and exhausted. Kitagawa nodded before he returned to the battle. Akechi was switched out for Morgana as soon as they were sure he was okay.

Once the battle was over they retreated to the nearest safe room to recover. Akechi treated his own wounds. He didn't need help. He never needed a team before and he never would. Still, it was hard not to think about what would have happened had Kitagawa not been there.

"Crow incoming!" Oracle yelled from above allowing Akechi to dodge the incoming attack just in time. 

"Woah! Crow knocked all of them down!" Akechi didn't bother to hide his pride from the compliment. He had taken out four shadows with one bless attack from Robin Hood so it was natural that they would be impressed.

"Health up!" A warm feeling spread through his body as the healing magic meanded Akechi's wounds. Everyone thanked Oracle for the health but he knew it was meant for him. He was the only one who had gotten injured all day.

"Crow's on fire! Someone put him out!" Akechi would ponder Oracle's genuine concern if he wasn't preoccupied. It was only after the battle he got the chance to really think about it. He wasn't sure when he had gotten so comfortable with her. He found himself trusting and relying on not just Oracle but the rest of the team. It was a terrible realization considering his impending betrayal. He couldn't get attached now, not when his plans were so close. He couldn't let his feelings ruin everything he had worked towards. Even if he could just forget it all, they would never accept him. Okumura, Isshiki, the countless others, they'd said it themselves. The Phantom Thieves aren't murderers.

An ambush was planned for November 19th. The plan had been in place for a while and the day was fast approaching. A couple weeks ago Akechi had been set in his plan. Nothing could turn him away. Nothing except a group of misfits it seemed. He was a fool for not noticing sooner. Every time he let his guard down, every friendly interaction, everything let them creep past his defenses ever so slightly until they had worked their way into his heart. Friends were for the weak, Akechi knew this well but damn did he feel weak right now.

Akechi needed help. He needed guidance but there was no one to turn to. He couldn't exactly walk up to the Phantom Thieves and explain his predicament, that would ruin his plans and what he had with them in one fell swoop. He was stuck. Paralyzed with indecision.

Did he hate Shido more than he wanted the Thieves? It should have been an easy question. The longer he waited, the worse it was going to be. He needed to make his choice before it was too late.

"Joker! You have to get up!" Panicked cries surrounded as Akira laid motionless on the ground. Akechi was the first to act as he sprinted towards the leader.

"Persona!" He yelled as Robin Hood appeared behind him. He cast samarecarm for the first time since learning the skill and desperately hoped it wasn't too late. The hit that had managed to take him down had been especially brutal and it didn't look like he was breathing and he just needed to wake up. Akira had to be okay. He turned to the other Thieves and saw they were frozen. 

"Take care of the shadow!" He ordered. "I have Joker!"

As the battle went on around him, Akechi worked to get Akira awake. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw his chest move lightly. He was at least breathing. Akechi cast samarecarm again and hoped Akira would wake up. It was exhausting but Akira seemed to be in a better condition as his eyes slowly opened.

Akechi was pissed. The battle had ended quickly once everyone got over their initial shock but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Akira had allowed himself to be taken down by some weakling in Mementos. Beyond that, their healers had been too stunned to even do anything about it which left him to care for the leader. Of course, he hadn't exactly _let_ their designated healers have a chance to do their job. Akechi had been at Akira's side almost instantly. He tried to tell himself that concern was just for his plan but, lying to himself wasn't going to help. His plan was already in shambles, it had been ever since he allowed the Phantom Thieves to weasel their way past his defenses. He cared about Akira, he cared about all of them and it was terrible.

Akechi sat with Akira in LeBlanc after closing. He'd asked to talk to him privately about some sensitive matters and they had decided the cafe would be the best meeting place. Akechi sat in silence as Akira patiently waited for him to say what he needed. Scenarios ran through Akechi's mind, rejection, anger, betrayal, he braced himself for all of it as he explained.

"I lied." He began. "About everything."

Akira's face remained neutral. It was irritating how hard he was to read.

"My intentions were never to help you." He admitted, bracing himself for the inevitable anger that would come from such a confession. "On November 19th, when we were going to steal the treasure, the police were going to be waiting for me to lead an ambush. The plan was for you to be arrested."

"I know." He said quietly, still unreadable. Akechi's heart started to race.

"What else do you know?" He asked slowly.

Akira hesitated. "We knew the entire plan... We actually knew from the start." How? Why? So many questions raced through his head.

"Then why did you let me on your team!? If you knew I was going to kill you then why would you let me get so close!" How reckless could they be? There were so many things that could have gone wrong and yet they still kept him around.

"We needed to know who you were working for." Akira was still irritatingly calm. A slight smile started to form. "And we're teammates, aren't we?"

Akechi looked at him in disbelief. Even after everything. "I suppose we are." He said quietly. "I can't go through with it. Not anymore. A month ago it would have been nothing but... You people and your damn team!"

Akira smiled when he should have been angry. it made no sense. "So does this mean you're not going to kill me?"

"Not anymore." He repeated. The thought made his stomach churn. Just the image of Akira lying unconscious was uncomfortable to think about but dead? There was no way he could go through with it. Maybe if it were someone else, but not one of them. "But there's still the matter of the ambush. I can't call it off, that would be too suspicious."

"We already had a plan." Akechi looked at him curiously, prompting Akira to continue.

He could hardly contain his horror as Akira explained his plan. There were so many unknown variables. So many ways for it to go wrong. The fact that it hinged on his ability to convince Sae Niijima of all people to believe in the metaverse was probably the worst part. How reckless could they be? Not that he was one to talk considering his side job, which reminded him of the even worse confession he had to make. 

"There's one more thing I need to tell you." His heart was racing. He just hoped Akira couldn't see just how nervous he was. "The black masked criminal you've been after. I'm him."

Akira's neutral expression fell back into place as he listened to the confession. He nodded slightly, "We've had our suspicions."

"How?" Akechi was starting to question how good at acting he really was. How had they figured out everything he'd been hiding? And if they could easily unravel his plans, what about Shido? Dread filled his stomach at the realization. If some nothing teens could figure him out so quickly...

"Back when we met, you could hear Morgana so that meant you'd been to the Metaverse before and when you talked to us at the festival, your story was too perfect. It was suspicious." Akechi nodded and Akira continued. "But we also figured out that you must be working for someone. When we were set up for Okumura's death, we knew there had to be something big going on and there was no way a single highschooler could be behind it all."

"You're correct." He paused and took a deep breath. "The man I work for, Masayoshi Shido, was the one who provided me with targets. Not that it makes my involvement any better, but, he was the one pulling the strings so to say. His plans were- are to become prime minister through use of the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdown incidents. I need... He needs to be stopped and I want to help."

"Shido..." He muttered. There was some recognition behind his glasses which made Akechi curious. Did they have some sort of history as well? It wasn't exactly unlikely considering the sheer amount of people the bastard wronged on a daily basis. "What made you work for someone like that?"

"It's..." He debated how much he should reveal. Yes, he was there for confessions but that particular one was more personal and emotionally exhausting to go through. It maybe wasn't the best sign that admitting to murder was the less stressful than talking about his personal history but that was something to unpack later. Right now he had to try to avoid talking about his past. "It's a very... long story, one that would best be discussed... at a later date."

Akira hesitantly accepted his answer. It was a great relief until he realized he would probably have to address it in front of everyone at some point which... That was a problem for future Akechi.

"So where do we go from here?" Akechi asked. The full force of Akira's gaze was on him as he considered the answer.

"We discuss this and revise our plans." He paused for a second before continuing. "But that's for tomorrow."

Tomorrow. Right, Akechi would just have to wait until tomorrow to learn his fate with the Phantom Thieves. He left LeBlanc that night with a knot in his stomach that just would not go away. Tomorrow. He could wait until then.


End file.
